JM: How many different blocks were there? Todd: I don't really know. Oh wait, there were 4 or 8
blocks per floor. Katie: I do not know that answer. In the new jail they
had what was called "pods". In the old jail they
had two floors 7th fl and 8th fl. Burl: There were eight different blocks
JM: Did they have names? If so, what were they? Todd: They had numbers and letters. The number was the
floor. The letter was the block (or pod) Katie: They did not have names..I believe that it goes by
floor and pod numbers. Burl: East wing west wing south wing north wing mental reg seg
JM: Which types of inmates were housed in the different blocks? Todd: Severity of the crime and general behavior was
the criteria that determined where you were
placed, I think. Katie: I know that in the old jail the 7th fl was for
basic criminals and the 8th fl was for the harden
criminals "murderers", "rapists", etc. New jail
held all new incoming people that were arrested.
Burl: It depends on the charge and the crime they commited.
Some blocks were for the mentally ill some were for cold
blooded killers. Some were for people with minor charges
like retail theft or something small
JM: What do you remember being the nicest and worst parts about the different blocks? Todd: Dane Co. jail has a good general library and also
a legal library. The book cart with selections
was changed once a week but- this did not happen
regularly. The worst part was not-knowing. Also,
people were going through all sorts of withdrawal
whether from alcohol, nicotine, or other drugs. I
definitely recall "rules" being posted and then
being openly ignored and not enforced except by
the whim of the deputy. A prime example was a
large sign that said: "No chairs in the bathroom"
and the first thing you saw when you went in was
a chair! It was veteran inmates that pointed the
rules out to new inmates, not their job, but this
pointed out to me their basic human goodness in
wanting there to be some sort of recognizable
order in their lives. Katie: The new jail "pods" had newer beds and newer
toliets, tvs, flooring etc....The old jail 7th fl
and 8th fl was old and dingy...everything was old
and beat up. Had a very bad odor and mildew. The
showers in the old jail was the worst with
bacteria and mildew. Was not a good place to get
cleaned up in. Burl: I was in seg for a while the good thing about that is you can't
get in no more trouble if you in a cell by self but it can get
boring at times because you do not have any one to talk to
to even make time try to go fast